You can’t make this stuff up: a strange story of a radical field buttockectomy in Alabama. It’s the heat. And the humidity. And the culture of violence that pervades America, especially the South. I’m a Southerner, so I can make these accusations. [hat tip to Scooter, who doesn’t have a link to link to]

The other day, I was watching Happy Days on cable. It was the episode from late in the show’s run where the Fonz is water skiing while wearing his leather jacket. While skiing, a shark appears, and Fonzie has to use a ramp to jump over the shark and escape. I realized that the episode must be the source for the phrase “jump the shark” (which, in TV talk, represents the point at which a TV has outlived its usefulness). According to this story, I’m right. I love it when that happens.